


Michael; after the Breakup

by sofiyathealmostwriter



Series: Michael: From Breakup to Makeup [1]
Category: The Princess Diaries - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hope, Hurt/Comfort, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28103328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofiyathealmostwriter/pseuds/sofiyathealmostwriter
Summary: A look into Michael's experience after the breakup in Book 8, and his own embarrassment and sadness while dealing with it. Hopeful ending.
Relationships: Michael Moscovitz/Mia Thermopolis
Series: Michael: From Breakup to Makeup [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141046
Kudos: 12





	Michael; after the Breakup

Michael sighed heavily as he pushed away his laptop, the words of his latest email stubbornly floating in his mind. His last two messages were pathetic, so pathetic, in fact, that his now ex-girlfriend couldn't even be bothered to reply to them.

 _Really? Egg sandwiches_? What the hell compelled him to write that? It was probably the image of her kissing J.P. [Reynolds-Abernathy _the Fourth_ ] in the hallway that was imprinted in his mind. He had watched it happen, and it was pretty obvious that she had no intention of kissing him on the mouth. But that didn't make it any less painful. It wasn’t so much the kiss, but the ease of which she smiled at him and moved to press her lips on his cheek. Even throughout the years of their relationship, Michael always sensed that Mia felt nervous when kissing him. There was a small part of his mind, weak but hopeful, that said this was because she only felt _that way_ for him. But that voice was overpowered by the louder, hurt-filled part of his heart.

She and J.P. made more sense together, blatantly evidenced by the extreme media support they had. Yeah, Michael had seen all of the polls comparing them, and J.P. was winning by a landslide. He came from the same community (rich and powerful); he was age-appropriate and in the same chapter of life as her; he had the support of her snobby grandmother; Hell, he probably even liked the lame musicals that Michael had snorted at many times.

It was this thought that made Michael groan out loud, pushing his head into his hands. _Why_ couldn’t he have just pretended to enjoy those stupid shows she’d dragged him to over the years? Maybe then none of this would be happening and he wouldn’t have to deal with the raging headache he had. It took him a few seconds to realize that his eyes were burning with moisture.

Michael was hardly what one could call a crier. He hadn’t shed a single tear on the plane or even when he finally got up the courage to call her and break up officially. But it was hitting him now. It was Mia’s continued silence and discernable apathy that had finally gotten to him.

He calmed himself down after a few moments, pressing his eyes against the palms of his hands. He dropped them slowly and unintentionally panned over to the top right-hand drawer of his new desk. Inside the drawer was a mess of his passport, notes, hand-sanitizer, and whatever else he’d just thrown in there. And somewhere underneath all of that was a small box holding the snowflake necklace he’d fished out from the carpet of the Ritz. Of course, when he was crawling on his hands and knees looking for it, he thought that they were just in a fight. He assumed that Mia had thrown the necklace down in a moment of emotional haste, but that she’d regret it once she cooled down and would want it back. He knew that she was upset about him going to Japan for so long, but this was Mia, and she was prone to dramatic outbursts. He couldn’t blame her; she was only sixteen and had a lot of pressure on her.

Even after their argument, Michael still hadn’t considered that they were actually _breaking up_ , rather than just going on a break. But that was before the kiss, and then the photos of them leaving the theater, and finally the gut-retching “ _Michael. I’m sorry.”_ message followed by radio-silence.

That said it all, didn’t it? She had been serious when she said those things about it not being fair for her to wait around for him. He realized that it really wasn’t okay to expect that of her; she was still _just_ sixteen. Even though he had always assumed they’d stay together forever (kind of sappy, but he really never considered the alternative), it was naïve to think so. They were still just teenagers in their first serious relationship. And those never end well.

And now they were barely broken up and she was already going out with _that guy_ , despite the fact that he had broken Lilly’s heart just days before. That guy had weaseled his way in as soon as Michael’s plane took off, not that Mia seemed to mind. He should have seen the signs, but no, he trusted his girlfriend to only ever have eyes for him, just as he had for her.

There was now another voice in Michael’s head, the angry and bitter one that had been emerging every so often since the breakup. All it took was _one day_ , one _day_ and she had already replaced him. They weren’t even subtle about it, getting their faces plastered over gossip magazines and papers. And yeah, maybe they weren’t officially dating yet, but it was only a matter of time. That voice told Michael that this was proof that Mia had disregarded him entirely and was ready to move on without another thought.

That’s why when he finally got to Japan and summed up his courage, he called her. He told her that he wanted to just be friends, solidifying their breakup. He even told her that the photos of her with J.P. didn’t matter, which wasn’t entirely true, but nonetheless. There was a part of him that wished she had stopped him, told him that she was willing, no, that she _wanted_ to wait for him. But she didn’t. All she said was okay and then quickly hung up the phone. Michael had a gut feeling that she hung up so fast because she was going to cry and the thought did hurt, but it didn’t matter. Even if they still loved each other, they wouldn’t be able to move past this. At least not now. Maybe their time apart would do them some good, or maybe they’d both just move on and their failed relationship would be just that, a failed relationship.

His anger dissipated as quickly as it appeared. All he wanted right now was a lifetime to her. He wanted to do what he said he would: be her friend. He didn’t want to forget her, and he didn’t want her to forget him. That’s why he kept messaging her despite himself.

But anyway, he was in _Japan_ , doing some really important work. So, sure, maybe he had just gotten his heart ripped out of his chest. What really mattered was that he had gotten possibly the best opportunity of his life and needed to enjoy the most of it. He needed to throw himself into his work, ‘feelings’ be damned. His new coworkers had invited him to go out, and that now sounded like a pretty good idea.

The laptop pinged and Michael couldn’t stop his head from springing up, searching for the name he was missing so much. His chest dropped after he saw who it was, having unwittingly risen with anticipation. The message wasn’t from her.

It was Boris, who had been checking in with him for the past few days. Michael had tried to be as subtle as possible when he asked Boris to keep him updated on Mia. He had initially tried asking Lilly, but all she said were a few unpleasant descriptive terms for Mia and that she had missed almost an entire week of school. The next time Michael tried asking her, she just replied, “Don’t know, don’t care.” And that was the end of that. 

Boris told him that there were rumors flying around about bronchitis or secret princess duties or who knows what else. Michael forced himself to ignore the obvious about her absence directly following their breakup. Although he did hope that she was mourning the loss of their relationship just as he was, he didn’t find any gratification in the image of her sitting at home wallowing. So, he chose to believe the rumors.

Without meaning to, he ended up telling Boris about how she hadn’t answered his messages or made any effort to contact him. Maybe he should just give up. She probably didn’t care anymore.

Michael wasn’t usually the type to talk about this kind of stuff unprompted, but he needed someone to relate to and there was no one around him that would understand. He was quite aware that his colleagues knew. There were stories circulating about how the Princess of Genovia had finally gotten rid of her nobody boyfriend. The headlines were humiliating enough without Michael having to tell his coworkers about how awful it felt too.

He exchanged a few more messages with Boris, who tried to assure him that Mia would write back eventually. She probably just needed some time to process what was going on, just as he had when Lilly dumped him (although Michael hoped that she wasn’t dropping any globes on her head). Speaking of Lilly, Boris informed him that the two girls were still weren’t talking. There was something else that had happened, but Boris wasn’t willing to tell him and Michael couldn’t muster up the effort to push it further.

After a few minutes, they said good-bye, and Michael went to get ready for bed. He showered and got changed but before calling it a night, he couldn’t help but check his laptop _one_ more time… There wasn’t anything important. He read over his last message to her again, which he boldly ended with “if you get a chance, I’d love to hear from you.” Re-reading it made him feel so incredibly stupid again. _How could he be so pathetic?_ She wasn’t going to answer him, no matter how friendly he tried to be. She’s probably been sitting in her loft, laughing at her pitiful ex-boyfriend who still can’t stop thinking about her even though he’s halfway across the world. Or maybe she’s been out with _him_ so much that she hasn’t bothered to check her messages at all. He didn’t know which thought was worse.

Aggressively, he shut his laptop and dropped into the bed. Thank God he didn’t have a roommate here, watching him woefully obsess over his high-school girlfriend. Sure, she was the princess of a small country, but she was still just a teenage girl who could be incredibly dramatic and immature. She also had gotten that really stupid haircut before he left. And remember how embarrassing she was at his party last year? And how she tried to manipulate him into staying in New York? Or, of course, when she had a complete fit about him with Judith Gershner, which happened before he even knew she liked him.

That’s what Michael kept having to repeat to himself, even though he didn’t really care about any of it. He just needed to tell himself those things so that he could find some solace about the breakup, something to make him think it was the right thing to do. Sure, Mia had her faults, but they were few and far between when compared to the many things he loved about her. He loved getting to message her after a long day and rattling off about whatever he had learned in class. He loved that she enthusiastically watched the movies he was assigned even though he knew she hated them. He loved that he knew when she was writing about him in her journal, looking up to glance at him every so often. He loved how her hair smelled and how her breath tickled his neck when he held her. He loved-

No, he had to keep reminding himself of the bad stuff. That was what was going to get him through this.

It took some time, but Michael finally drifted off to sleep, determined to make the most out of his time in a cool new country. He was determined to prove himself. He was determined that he wasn’t going to message her again.

* * *

Okay, he caved. He had managed to hold out for about 4 days, during which he busied himself with work and tried to befriend his new colleagues. But when he got home after work one day… He ended up searching her name. He didn’t want to, but his fingers typed it out before his brain could stop them. Maybe it was because he wanted to know if she was still going out with that guy. Maybe he just wanted to see her face again.

What he saw was so unexpected that Michael ended up sending her a message without even thinking. There were several articles about an explosion, caused by Kenny, and how Mia and ‘that guy’ were fine but still had to be taken to the hospital. The message Michael sent her was short and sort of funny, one he would have written before they had even started dating. In the heat of the moment, he added a winky face at the end and clicked SEND before he had time to stop himself. Maybe she’d answer this one.

In his next email, Boris ended up asking Michael if Mia had ever gotten back to him. Michael admitted that no, she hadn’t, and that maybe he really should just stop bothering her. He desperately wanted to be able to talk to her again… But he also wanted to stop embarrassing himself. Boris was pretty understanding for a guy who doesn’t understand most things about anything. Other than his violin maybe.

The days went by without any answer, and Michael was steadily getting used to his new life. The project was going well, and he was enjoying his time in Japan, even though it was hard to find a meal that didn’t include fish, seaweed, or noodles (not that he didn’t enjoy them). He’d been out with his coworkers a few times and had managed to have some fun. He even shared a few glances with one of his more attractive colleagues. Yeah, maybe he’d be able to move on after some time. 

It had been over a week now since he messaged her about the explosion. On his way home from work, Michael passed a newsstand and was stopped by a huge headline that read “PRINCESS DROPS BOMB OF DIFFERENT KIND” with a large photo of Mia speaking somewhere. He quickly paid for the English paper and scanned through the article. As it turned out, Genovia was now a democracy, all thanks to Mia. She had made an amazing speech at some club and it was quoted to have made numerous attendees tear up. There was something brewing in his chest.

As he looked down at her picture, Michael didn’t feel heartache or animosity. Instead, he felt… _pride_. She might not be his Mia anymore, but she was still Mia, and she was extraordinary.

Which is why he didn’t feel quite so pathetic when he messaged her one more time, congratulating her on her achievement. It even felt natural to call her Thermopolis again.

He didn’t have any expectations, but when Michael woke up, he found a reply waiting for him in his inbox. It was short, sweet, and impersonal, but still Mia-like. He could hear her voice in his head as he read it and inadvertently broke out into a smile. Even if they weren’t in love, maybe they would be alright after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I binge-read all 11 Princess Diaries books in about 1 week and there were so many times where I was inspired to write about Michael's thoughts, particularly after the breakup with Mia. So sad the movies underplayed him, he's definitely now my new fictional crush! This story is mostly for me because I was bursting, but I would love to know your thoughts! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Meg Cabot owns all of the characters mentioned, as well as Genovia and certain lines from the books!


End file.
